Various HTS materials exist. Ongoing research attempts to achieve new HTS materials with improved operating characteristics over existing HTS materials. Such operating characteristics may include, but are not limited to, operating in a superconducting state at higher temperatures, operating with increased charge carrying capacity at the same (or higher) temperatures, and/or other operating characteristics.
Scientists have theorized a possible existence of a “perfect conductor,” or material that exhibits extremely low resistance (similar to the resistance exhibited by superconducting materials, including superconducting HTS materials, in their superconducting state), but that may not necessarily demonstrate all the other conventionally accepted characteristics of a superconducting material.
Notwithstanding their name, conventional HTS materials still operate at very low temperatures. In fact, most commonly used HTS materials still require use of liquid nitrogen cooling systems. Such cooling systems increase costs and prohibit widespread commercial and consumer application of such materials.
What are needed are improved ELR materials that operate at higher temperatures and/or with increased charge carrying capacity.